mradey

It's retro and the coolest looking of all the Amex cards!

jags86

This. And only this. I keep looking at the Green cards T&C to see if it offers *any* advantage to the Everyday card and it just doesn’t. I don’t get how they can continue to offer it in it’s current state. At least they give you 25,000 MR to sign up.

Hell, even if they gave it the old PRGs 15,000 MR bonus after $30k it would be worth it to some people.

sdsearch

To some people a charge card (Green) is worth it over a credit card (Everyday) simply due to the different nature of a charge card. But obviously, that only matters to some people.

Green is the cheapest charge card that Amex makes. Everything Amex has that is cheaper is a credit card.

But of course, if you don't care whether it's a charge card or a credit card, then it may not matter to you.

But that's why you have to think about people other than yourself (people not at all like you) to figure out why something might make sense for Amex, even though it doesn't make sense for you.

jags86

I get why it makes sense for AMEX. People are paying $95 for something they could get for free with the Everyday card. If there are even just 100,000 legacy Green cards out there from people who have always had one, thats $9,500,000 in AMEX’s pocket.

For regular ol’ folks, it doesn’t really make sense. There’s a very, extremely, microscopic, subset of people who need a personal, not business, not corporate, charge card for its “purchasing power” who can’t get a very high limit on a credit card. Chase hands out 30k+ credit lines like candy. Even AMEX hands out $25k credit lines pretty easily. And besides, Visa Signature/Infinite cards are already NPSL, you just need to pay them down to the credit limit when your payment is due.

sdsearch

An economist just won a Nobel prize for his work into how people make irrational economic choices.

Most "regular ol' folks" aren't anywhere close to as educated about this as you are. They don't know that (or how) they can apply for a business card (without having a business) and not have it appear on their credit report (and thus 99% utilization on such a card not hurting their credit). They don't know what the pattern of CLs is. They don't know what a NPSL is or which cards give it. Etc. Etc.

Furthermore, they don't know that there is all this stuff to know. "Ignorance is bliss."

I saw a recent headline that said "cash is king" because some new survey said just over 50% of people want cash back as their rewards. But then I looked into the survey to see what the other said, it said over 30% of people wanted miles/points. Well, if 30% of the people who use rewards credit cards think they want miles or points, I can't believe that most of them really understand miles/points.

And those who don't understand may apply for things like Green.

jags86

So, in other words, it’s a card for suckers.

mia

Nope. It's a card for people who make different choices than you. Applying a pejorative characterization doesn't help us understand.

JHake10

While not as retro, my Zync card is pretty cool looking. Many people thought (I don't use it anymore) it was some top tier card. Little did they know, it was below the green

jags86

I’m not trying to be confrontational, but this is a really silly argument. You can say any product is “for people who make different choices than you.” Does that mean there are no bad products?

The Green Card is an inferior product compared to the other Membership Rewards earning cards AMEX offers. There are cards with lower fees that offer better earning and equal ancillary benefits. There are cards with equal fees, equal ancillary benefits, and better rewards earning. And there are more expensive cards with better benefits and better rewards earning structures.

I get why AMEX offers the Green card—it’s free money to them. I get that some people have had the Green card for decades and have not looked around to realize there are now better products available. I don’t get how anyone could say it’s a “good product for some people”. Everyone says that but doesn’t give an example of how it could be a “good product for some people.”

mia

No, it means there is a difference between criticizing a product, and ridiculing those who buy it. If you really want to understand the value of a Green card you might need to hear from people who have one, and they aren't likely to join the discussion if we characterize them as suckers.

Most people are not interested in cards. They have one or two, they use them, but they don't think about or discuss them. They pay $95 for a service they might be able to get for free, but they receive sufficient value for the price paid.

I don't clip and redeem grocery coupons. I'm sure i miss more than $95.00 per year in savings. I buy bottled water, even though nearly free water is easier to get from several taps in my home and office. I pay for a cable television subscription even though free TV signals are broadcast. I pay to have someone else brew a cup of coffee that I could make at home for a fraction of the cost. Every one of these decisions represents "wasted" money that I couldn't justify on purely financial grounds. Money is a measure of value, but it's not the only measure. I think it's important to respect other people's decisions, even when I do not understand or disagree.

jags86

Those are false equivalencies. Every one of the things you mention you are paying extra for a service or saving time. It costs you time to clip coupons. You’re paying someone to make your coffee for you. You’re getting additional television stations and content when paying for cable.

A appropriate comparison would be Starbucks starts offering free coffee with the hope of upselling you at the register. You decide to leave money on the counter regardless.

edealinfo12345

Wow! You sure know how to make a point! I was the OP and kind of threw in "sucker" based on how I view the card, but now the term is appearing appropriate for most, if not all situations.

Separately, MIA, I understand that you have a diplomatic role to play on the forum and I respect that. However, I think it is important to call a spade a spade, and Jag86 seems to be supporting that contention.

thefunch

How does one truthfully fill out the application for a business card and get a useful CL (remember: no business = no business revenue) and comply with the cardmember agreement that explicitly states that the card is only to be used for the company's expenses, when one does not actually have a business?

Not trying to be snarky, but I keep seeing this "advice" every now and then, and it just seems like an easy way to get caught with your hand in the cookie jar.

krazykanuck

I don't know if this is just me, but Amex tends to be stingy with credit limits vs other issuers until you prove that you can spend a lot and pay it off. My SPG Biz card originally had a ~6-7k limit and due to a combination of MSing and work reimbursable expenses I got to about 90% utilization in one month. Amex proactively doubled my credit limit without me asking right after I paid it off.

jags86

It’s been so long since I got my first AMEX business card but in general AMEX will give up to $25k without any documentation. If you are a long time customer here would be my recommendation. Get 2 business cards—say SPG and Delta Gold. Request a limit increase on one immediately, and then wait 60 days and request a limit increase on the other. 30 days later you can shift the credit around—so since the Delta card likely has no reason for any spend I’d move everything buy $500 of the credit limit to the SPG. When you eventually get around to opening a Blue Business Plus or whatever end goal you want, repeat this process. Request a CLI on the new card, then move as much credit from your current card over.

For example when I opened my BBP I was given a $9800 credit limit with a stated business revenue of $0. I immediately CLId to $15000. Then I moved $9000 from SPG Business over right before closing that card. So now the BBP has a $24k limit. $24k is way more than I need.